I am Alberto Pacheco, a Realtor Associate with Keller Williams Realty my office is located at 19300 Rinaldi St Suite L Porter Ranch,CA 91326. (818)481 9211.I consider myself a consultant. I assist home owners with their home sale as well as home buyers with their purchase. I specialize on Probate Home listings , Short Sales and Standard sales.

Monday, October 24, 2005

Now is good time to cancel Private Mortgage Insurance, before a slowdown or even a dip in home prices makes it difficult.

Based largely on the run-up in housing values many homeowners have taken advantage of a 7 year old federal law that lasts them jettison private mortgage insurance also known as PMI.

But the laggards among those still paying PMI, which can add $100 or more to the monthly house payments, had better get on the stick. A Slowdown in appreciation or perhaps even a decline in house prices, could preclude dumping PMI for several more years. Do it now.

Private morrgage insurance is a necessary evil for many first time home buyers. Nearly 12 million families nationwide in the last 12 months alone were unable to scrape together 20% down payment that lenders traditional require. So lenders, accept the insurance as substitute for the part of the down payment that is missing.

The less money the borrower puts down, the more expesive the coverage, even though the borrower pays the premium the insurance protects the lender in case of default on the loan.

The good news is that the coverage can be terminated, a fact that has not been lost on some borrowers. Through the first eight months of this year, appraisals has ordered more than 10,000 appraisals on behalf of borrowers waiting to end coverage. That's a 110% increase over the same period a year ago.

Under the Homeowner Protection Act of 1998, lenders must cancel private mortgage insurance at the borrowers request when a mortgage is paid down to 80% of the properties original value. Policies must be terminated when the loan balance reaches 78% of the homes value at the time it was purchase.

Coverage can't be canceled until the loan is at least 2 years old unless the owner has made significant improvements to the property.

Sunday, October 16, 2005

Single story architecture sits right at the confluence of two trends driving the home building industry: consumer demand for bigger homes and the increasing price of open land.

The near disappearance of the single level style in a new construction is a milestone in regional land use a deviation from decades of building that emphasized one story homes. An one that seems ironic as the large baby boomer population is aging and more likely to be seeking out places without stairs.

About 44% of all new single family homes in the U.S. had two or more stories in 2004, up from 30% in 1978 according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics. This upward movement is not limited to urban setttings. There are entire developments being built in the Inland Empire where the bulk of Southern California's new home growth is, that don't have a single level home in them.

It's only the senior citizens who want a single-story homes. Homes with second story adds square footage without taking up more space on the ground.

Twenty years ago the average lot in California was more than 7,500 square feet, now is about 6,417 square feet.

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Though A Few More Southland For-Sale Signs Are Sprouting, Buyers Are Coming Up Short

The number of homes for sale has been persistently low for almost five years, a cycle that bottomed out in the spring of 2004. Since the beginning of this summer, inventory levels in many neighborhoods have crept up a bit, and there is anectodal evidence that some pockets have more on the market now that September is here, but the increases are not much by historical stantards.

.

Everone has heard the predictions of a bubble, but I am still seeing a lot of buyers in all price ranges

. People are staying put and renovating instead of trading up, long term interest rates have been lodged near historical lows; many homeowners have borrowed against their equity and spent the funds.

The lack of homes for sale is a statewide phenomenon and another surprising characteristic of a real estate market that has for several years defied many experts predictions of a significant slowdown.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

The City and County of Los Angeles has a First Time Homebuyer assistant program. The money is for the downpayment and closing cost. With this program the buyer can get a single family residence, condominium or townhouse. The Buyer has to bring an small downpayment of their own and be within the low or medium income salaray set by the county. They need to assist to a seminar given by Acorn Housing in Los Angeles.

When they go through Acorn Housing, they get preaqualify according to their salary and number of family members. Once that happened, they are refer to a lender within the program, the lender then submit their package for a pre-approval, once they are approved they go and look for properties within their and the La City limits. This transactions take at least 60 days to close escrow, sometimes more.

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About Me

I am a Licensed Realtor in California since 1993, experienced the previous foreclosure market from 1993-1995 and again since 2007 up to today. I am still working full time and active in Real Estate who specialize in Probate